Qwest Communications International Inc. this week announced Oregon’s Bend-La Pine School District is expanding its existing relationship with Qwest by investing $1.7 million in a Qwest GeoMax deployment. Qwest GeoMax service is a high-capacity, data-networking solution for customers with significant data transmission needs.

The Bend-La Pine School District will use GeoMax to connect 20 locations, converging data and voice over a single fiber network. Deploying GeoMax will allow the school district to unify its communications infrastructure to save money while expanding learning opportunities for students.

“The district’s 2007-2008 budget committed to allocating significant resources to continue to move our technology initiatives forward for the benefit of our growing student population,” said Steve Carlson, executive director of technology, Bend-La Pine School District. “We’ve found Qwest to be a valuable partner, providing us with the most advanced solutions, such as GeoMax, ensuring our campuses have access to the latest educational experiences technology makes possible.”

“Qwest is proud to play a part in the Bend-La Pine School District’s efforts to create a cutting-edge technology environment,” said Tom Richards, executive vice president, Qwest business markets group. “Qwest GeoMax lays a strong technology foundation that meets the district’s needs today, while also providing the scalability to easily meet the needs of tomorrow.”

The Bend-La Pine school district had used other local cable providers for some connectivity. However, the district selected Qwest as the sole provider for its gigabit Ethernet deployment, taking advantage of the cost-effectiveness, high-bandwidth and 99.999 percent reliability offered by Qwest GeoMax.